Deciding to shoot what you love is a big decision.  And deciding to go from photographing mainly families and children to focusing on teens and seniors is a decision that Brooke Busby of Brooke Busby Photography recently made.  And I am glad she did!

This session is a beautiful session using the location to match the senior and who she is and I think it turned out beautifully!  Check out the photos below and read what Brooke had to share regarding this session!  And check out Brooke’s new website that focuses on teens and seniors here.  Thanks for sharing Brooke!

I normally ask my clients up front if there is a certain location that they have in mind for the shoot.  It seems like almost everyone that I’ve ever taken pictures of has an idea of a place that fits who they are.  If they don’t, then I will certainly collaborate with the client about a location that fits their personality.

For this particular session Daniele already had a certain place in mind that she wanted to shoot at.   We started out with a country setting, out in a field with hay bales and a gorgeous red barn.  It was the perfect place for her personality.  We ended the photo shoot at an old railroad station, which is one of my favorite places!

I did not collaborate with my client on what to wear, however, I had a tremendous amount of confidence in her style having see her a few times before the session.  Sometimes clients need help and sometimes they don’t. 🙂  I did however, recommend having her make-up professionally done. Having make-up applied correctly definitely helps with editing out blemishes later and also helps to bring out the subjects eyes.    Professional make-up application is something that I’m very excited about and will be included in all of my packages this year.

I used my Nikon D700 and 85 1.4 lens for this shoot.

This session took place a couple of hours before sunset, which is my FAVORITE time of the day to take pictures.  The light is absolutely perfect for me!

I typically start out by tweaking a few things in camera raw…exposure, white balance, and contrast.  Then, my image is ready to be opened in Photoshop.  I usually run a few different actions, (to create a little bit of vintage feel), add an s-curve adjustment layer, and smooth the skin.  I finish by reducing the noise, and the sharpening.

My absolute favorite thing about this session was that I showed a side to my client that I feel like most of her friends and family had never seen before.  Daniele is such a fun and sweet girl to be around…and always smiling.  Getting pictures to show her bubbly personality is definitely important, but it was fun to get pictures of her that were a little bit out of her comfort zone.  I love shooting the “serious” face, because you can get the subjects eyes completely open, and to me the eyes are one of the most important parts to a great photo.

I want my clients to be shocked to see how beautiful they are in their photos.  I want them to look at themselves a little differently than they once had, maybe with a little more confidence.  We as women are too hard on ourselves and our appearance.  If I can help make someone feel a little better about themselves, then I have definitely accomplished something.

My biggest tip would be to take a TON of pictures.  Sometimes, the craziest and weirdest angle is the best shot.  I am trying to work on trying new and different things myself.  One thing is for sure, the more you practice, the better you get.